Doc Pomus - Legacy and Influence

Legacy and Influence

Together with Shuman and individually, Pomus was a key figure in the development of popular music. They wrote such hits as "Save the Last Dance for Me", "This Magic Moment", "Sweets for My Sweet", "Viva Las Vegas", "Little Sister", "Surrender", "Can't Get Used to Losing You", "Suspicion", "Turn Me Loose" and "A Mess of Blues".

• Pomus was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• In 1991 he was the first non-African-American recipient of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award. Ray Charles did the honors via a pre-recorded message.
• The songs written and co-written by Pomus are standards of songwriting by his prolific consistency, and continue to be covered by musicians of every generation.

• The funk band Cameo was heavily influenced by Doc Pomus' song-writing style and frequently acknowledges his impact before performing their hit song "Word Up."

• The song "Doc’s Blues" was written as a tribute to Pomus by his close friend, Andrew Vachss. The lyrics originally appeared in Vachss’ 1990 novel Blossom. "Doc’s Blues" was recorded by bluesman Son Seals, on Seals' last album, Lettin’ Go.
• Responsible for Lou Reed's introduction to the music industry in the early 1960s, Pomus was one of two friends Reed memorialized on his 1992 album Magic and Loss (the other was Rotten Rita).

• In 1995, Rhino Records released a tribute album to Pomus entitled Till The Night Is Gone. Pomus songs are performed by Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Dion, Dr. John, Irma Thomas, Solomon Burke, John Hiatt, Shawn Colvin, Aaron Neville, Lou Reed, The Band, B. B. King, Los Lobos and Rosanne Cash.

• In 2010, Ben Folds and Nick Hornby named their collaborative album Lonely Avenue which included the song Doc Pomus. The lyrics include a reference from an excerpt from Doc Pomus’s uncompleted memoir, February 21, 1984: "I was never one of those happy cripples who stumbled around smiling and shiny-eyed, trying to get the world to cluck its tongue and shake its head sadly in my direction. They’d never look at me and say, 'What a wonderful, courageous fellow.'” The album featured lyrics written by British author Hornby which were put to music by American performer Folds. It was released on September 28, 2010.